June 29, 2004, 7:03PM
'Spider-Man 2' takes comic-book web-slinger to heroic new heights
By BRUCE WESTBROOK
Copyright 2004 Houston Chronicle
Power, it is said, corrupts. But since his comics origin in 1962, Spider-Man has clung to an opposing mantra: "With great power comes great responsibility."
Director Sam Raimi -- a fan since childhood -- stayed true to that spirit in 2002's Spider-Man, dutifully retelling the origin of the heroic web-spinner and his humble alter ego, Peter Parker. Raimi then shouldered the responsibility of following up an $821 million global smash by daring to direct its sequel.
What a sequel it is.
Freed from the first film's expository constraints, Spider-Man 2 races from the gate with the gallop of a champion. Sensational enough for power-fantasy fans, it also tells a strong story that tugs agreeably on our heartstrings.
Hip to the special spark that humanity gives superheroes -- a formula that lofted Marvel from scrappy upstart to publishing giant -- Raimi plays up the soap opera of Peter's personal life without sacrificing action-movie momentum.
When last seen, Peter (Tobey Maguire) had isolated himself from his beloved Mary Jane (Kirsten Dunst) to protect her in case Spider-Man's enemies learned his identity. Two years later, Peter is missing college classes and failing at small jobs because he's been sidetracked saving New Yorkers from disaster.
Meanwhile, his sweet Aunt May (Rosemary Harris) is about to lose her modest home to the bank. And when Peter belatedly tries to reconcile with Mary Jane despite his better judgment, the webbing hits the fan.
Plagued by doubts, he even seems to be losing his powers. But there's nothing like a bad guy to focus a fella.
Enter Dr. Otto Octavius (Alfred Molina), a respected scientist whose experiments with fusion power involve four long mechanical arms. When a demo goes kerplooey, the arms weld to his torso and start showing wicked wills of their own. He then becomes Dr. Octopus, or Doc Ock, a durable Spidey villain since 1963's Amazing Spider-Man No. 3.
Warped by suffering, Ock is tangled in a web snaring Peter and friend Harry Osborn (James Franco), who blames Spidey for the death of his father, Norman Osborn -- the Green Goblin -- in the first film. An inheritance brat, Harry will fund Ock's experiments if he delivers Spidey for vengeance.
The ensuing melees are the most spectacular superpowered action ever seen on screen, especially a runaway train ride that builds to an excruciating crescendo. Raimi also draws upon his creepy Evil Dead flicks for a twisted emergency-room scene, the movie's darkest moment.
Even more spiderlike than Spider-Man, Ock skitters across walls and thunders like a Jurassic Park dino as he stomps Manhattan's streets with pounding, writhing tentacles, their voracious tips snapping like metal mouths. It's an inspired effect that couldn't have been achieved until the computer-generated era. Spidey's wild web-swinging through New York's steel canyons also gains zip.
Yet none of this plays as action for action's sake. Rather, it flows seamlessly from a tight screenplay by two-time Oscar winner Alvin Sargent. The result is the finest comic-book movie since 1992's Batman Returns, another first sequel. The second time, it seems, is the charm.
Even Maguire's typical mumbling and underplaying doesn't detract, since Peter so often is dazed by dilemmas. He'd be awful as a swaggering superhero, but as conscience-wracked Peter/Spidey, Maguire is touchingly downtrodden and resolute when forced.
Molina shows cunning and intelligence behind his flamboyance, and his Ock is conflicted -- as much victim as villain. He's also recognizably human, unlike Willem Dafoe's masked Goblin.
Mary Jane has become a top model and actress, a career arc that Dunst doesn't sell as well as her torch-carrying for Peter. A third side to their romantic triangle is John Jameson (Daniel Gillies), astronaut son of J. Jonah Jameson (J.K. Simmons), the boorish editor who rakes muck against Spidey with show-stealing histrionics.
Raimi keeps it all clipped and snappy without getting overheated, injecting humor in the right doses. Mostly he treats Spider-Man 2 as a thrilling adventure propelled by courage in the face of frailty.
In-jokes include a glimpse of Spider-Man co-creator Stan Lee, a line about Marvel's Dr. Strange, a nod to the fan nightmare of having a comics collection tossed out and a sly stab at the back pains that almost sidelined Maguire. We also meet Dr. Curt Connors (Dylan Baker), who became the villainous Lizard three issues after Ock was born -- and who might be back for Spidey 3.
Raimi covers still more bases from the comics' early run, including a messy secret-identity spill. With 42 years of history to serve, he must have felt a great responsibility. With Spider-Man 2, he has honored it.
Grade: A+
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